Professional Dental Cleanings
As a dentist in Fort Myers, our mission is always to help you reach and keep your best possible oral health through diagnostic assessment, prevention, and education. At Daniels Parkway Dental, we work with patients to help develop personalized oral hygiene care plans based on their inidivdual needs.
Assessment
First, we will start by reviewing your medical and dental history. To ensure you have proper oral hygiene care, we’ll examine your teeth for decay, visually and with radiographs. Research shows that unchecked plaque on your teeth can lead to periodontal disease – and that is a risk factor for serious illnesses, such as diabetes, lung and heart diseases, and stroke. Then, we’ll take a look at your gum tissue and assess your biting, chewing, and swallowing patterns. Finally, we’ll evaluate your dental readiness for procedures, such as cosmetic smile enhancements, and reassess your overall treatment.
Professional Cleaning
As your dental care provider, we’ll start by screening for oral cancer with clinical measurements, radiographs, and other assessment methods. We’ll clean and scale your teeth to remove pesky surface stains, plaque, and tartar. Most importantly, we’ll be able to educate you about your teeth, gums, and mouth, give you instructions about brushing and flossing, and explain treatment options (i.e., orthodontics, cosmetic procedures, etc.).
You’re probably wondering why oral hygiene care is important. Have you heard the phrase that your eyes are the window to the soul? Very similarly, your mouth can be regarded as a window to your overall health as it can show signs of nutritional deficiencies, illnesses, and general infections. Since your mouth already contains so much bacteria, if it’s not properly taken care of, it can cause serious inflammation and gum infections.
Also, your mouth is a port of entry for infection by allowing harmful bacteria to enter the bloodstream. This can lead to more inflammation in other parts of your body, such as the heart and lungs.
The Effects Of Diet On The Health Of Teeth
When it comes to cavities, foods high in sugar and carbohydrates are the fuel to make more cavity-causing acid in your mouth. It’s actually tiny bacteria that cause decay, and those bacteria in our mouths feed on the sugars and carbohydrates we eat to make acid which then decays teeth. While your physician or personal trainer might tell you to reduce sugary foods and carbohydrates altogether, from a dental perspective, it is more important how often you expose your teeth to sugar and carbohydrates than how much. A person who sips on a 12 ounce can of soda, sweetened coffee, sweet tea, etc all day potentially does far more damage to their teeth than a person who drinks a large soda in one sitting.
The bacteria don’t store the sugar, but every time they are exposed to sugar, they make a new batch of tooth-destroying acid. Be careful of frequently sipping on fruit juices and sports drinks also as most contain plenty of sugar. Even “natural” sugars can lead to tooth decay. When it comes to dental cavities, look for how often throughout the day you have carbohydrates or sugars more than how much. Enjoy your meals! Be careful with your snacks.
Your physician is right when it comes to quitting smoking. While smoking is not known to lead to increased decay, smoking causes gum disease to worsen. The success rates for dental implants is generally very high, but failed implants are about twice as likely in smokers. While it’s best not to smoke, smokers should be especially mindful to keep regular dental checkups to monitor for new or worsening problems.
Maintaining Good Oral Hygiene
Brush your teeth at least two times each day using fluoride toothpaste.
The frequency of how much you brush and how you brush is important. Take the time to try to remove all the plaque from your teeth by brushing in circular motions and don’t skip out on your tongue. It doesn’t matter how tired you are either. And at the end of the day, always brush before bed.
Floss daily.
Floss helps to remove plaque and prevents future buildup, which can lead to excess tartar on your teeth. If you suffer from bleeding gums, don’t be afraid to floss, the floss won’t make your gums worse. In fact, flossing helps gums and will likely reduce the bleeding in time.
Schedule regular dental visits.
Visit us at least two times a year (or more, depending on your own personal treatment plan) for professional cleanings and checkups. We’ll be able to do deep cleanings, spot potential issues, and offer treatment solutions.
As you can see, good oral hygiene is more than just brushing your teeth. It’s about maintaining a regimen. Your oral hygiene appointments can aid us in early detection of oral cancer and other dental issues, provide us with an opportunity to remove stubborn plaque and tartar buildup, and to discuss how your lifestyle can affect your oral health.
Hygiene services begin here, but they must always be followed by proper brushing, flossing, and healthy eating at home. If you’re not sure how, contact our office today or ask your dentist or hygienist during your next visit.
How Often Should I Get My Teeth Cleaned?
The standard of every 6 months actually started with toothpaste ads back in the 1950’s. While there isn’t a lot of hard research to support it, seeing a dentist every 6 months for cleanings is a reasonable strategy for most people. Occasionally I will see a patient with no fillings or cavities and little to no tartar build up and I will recommend once a year cleanings. More often, if a person has a history of periodontal disease with bone loss or pocketing, a periodontal maintenance every 3 months will be advised to help disrupt the bacterial part of the process in gum disease.
When should I schedule my next appointment?
We’d be happy to get you scheduled at everyone’s convenience. If it has been longer than 6 months since your last dental visit, it is probably time.
What occurs during a dental cleaning?
During a typical dental cleaning the hygienist will use a variety of hand and electronic instruments to remove the hard tartar build up on your teeth and sometimes root surface. She will also polish away any soft plaque build up. If this is your first appointment, she will take a full series of radiographs (typically 18 small x-rays) so that the dentist can see between the teeth and the tips of the roots in order to look for any decay, tartar build up, abscesses, bone loss, or other issues. Thereafter, we typically recommend 4 bitewing x-rays once per year to look between the back teeth for any decay. This is not an area where the dentist can easily see without an x-ray, and we want to find any decay on a timely basis before it is more likely to become a larger problem. We typically repeat the full mouth series of x-rays every 3-5 years. The hygienist will likely floss your teeth also at the cleaning appointment and will go over any instructions on proper care at home perhaps including brushing and flossing techniques. The final step of polishing your teeth so they feel smooth and shiny is what patients most appreciate, but actually plays the least important role in the health of your teeth and gums- the work at and below the gumline is what helps keep the gums and bone healthy.
Is the process painful?
A typical cleaning is not painful. There may be moments when tenacious tartar or an area deeper under the gums needs to be cleaned and that may cause some minor discomfort, but in general the whole process should be reasonably comfortable. If the cleaning is too painful, please let the hygienist know. She may be able to apply some topical numbing jelly to the area of concern. If periodontal treatment (scaling and root planing, sometimes referred to as deep cleanings) are required, it is common for local anesthetic to be utilized first so that the hygienist can clean the root surfaces without fear of hurting you. Many patients find it more comfortable if they take ibuprofen or Tylenol an hour before their cleaning. Dr. Bryant King himself will commonly take 2 ibuprofen 200mg one hour before his scheduled cleaning to prevent any headaches from holding open for that hour appointment. You are encouraged to do likewise as long as your physician hasn’t recommended against any of those medications.
How do I keep my teeth clean between cleanings?
What are the benefits of getting my teeth cleaned regularly?
Kind Words From Recent Patients
Daniels Parkway Dental
6900 Daniels Parkway #30, Fort Myers
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The dentist is amazing having professional attitude and always giving care necessary for appropriate needs. The staff are professional as well as friendly, kind and gentle. Positive vibes from all in this dental office! 👍
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I cannot begin to express how WONDERFUL my experience is Every time i need to go to the DDS. Daniels Parkway Dental is the best. They have brought back good ole fashion bedside manner. Everyone in that office gets a 5 ⭐️ review. From the … More moment you check in to the moment they finish the dental procedure. Dr Shelly and Dr King are constantly checking on you throughout the process and explain in detail everything they are doing and making sure you are not feeling any discomfort. This also includes their FABULOUS DENTAL HYGIENIST “Keely” (the best, bar none!!!!)
Fort Myers is LUCKY, EXTREMELY LUCKY to have them in our area (even though if they were farther i would still go to them) I also want to give the Dental Assistant recognition for how extremely well she worked with Dr Shelly they were a perfect team.
So in conclusion if you are looking for a Dental Office and want great work done LOOK NO FURTHER!!!! Than Daniels Parkway Dental Office!!!!!!!!!!
Sincerely
Alex Gonzalo. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 -
Dr. Shelly King was wonderful. The best experience. Very caring and explained everything. Absolutely no pain or anxiety. I would highly recommend. The office staff was great too!
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Great dentist office. The staff is incredibly helpful and friendly. The dentist isn't quick to jump to fillings for children with tiny cavities that could heal or cavities in a baby tooth that's coming out soon. The hygienist … More we see if very respectful of the decisions we make regarding fluoride. They are a wonderful family own practice and Dr. Bryant and Dr. Shelley are so great with our family.
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Had an urgent need for an appointment (my porcelain crown fell out over holiday weekend). Being fairly new to the area and not having a regular dentist, I took a chance & stopped into Daniels Parkway Dental to see if I could get an … More appointment in the next few days. To my surprise they had an opening later that day. First let me say I was so impressed when I walked in to a beautiful bright well appointed clean office and warmly greeted by the friendly knowledgeable staff. Went ahead and took my insurance info (which they are filing for me so I can be reimbursed) and did all the paperwork. I say this because my time in the waiting area I noticed the pleased patients checking out and others coming in. Coming from up north who had a very modern excellent local dentist, Daniel Parkway Dental reminded me of what was left behind. And confirmed by the excellent medical care by Dr Shelly King. Both her & her assistant were gentle yet professional. In a layman’s eyes like myself I thought “just glue it back”, I’m so glad I didn’t try a do it yourself nor go to one of those “doc in a box” popping up on every corner. It was a very intricate procedure taking time to make sure the bites correct. Someone without much experience could have broken the tiny pins my old dentist had made. Or would have easily said I need a new one meaning lots of $$$$$. It was divine steering which brought me to Daniel Parkway Dental. A local family dentistry who’s been around for 20 years and not going anywhere. This evening I was able to enjoy my food and would never know it had fallen out few days ago. I’m so glad I’ve found a dental practice I can trust & look forward to going back for routine care for myself & my husband.
Thank you again Dr Shelly King & staff🤗
Contact Our Office
For immediate assistance or scheduling please contact our office directly at (239) 337-5464. All online inquiries are responded to within 24 hours.